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Kromm · 11-16-2012, 09:29 AM

Ocean of darkness
Ports shown by a thousand lights
Each a mystery
— Some hack

Sometimes, one world isn't big enough for the campaign – you need several, maybe as many as possible. Once again, it's e23 to the rescue, this time with Pyramid #3/49: World-Hopping. Like worlds suitable for settlement, its articles are few in number, but big . . .

Matt Riggsby knows that on Earth, many of the greatest cities grew naturally along important trade and travel routes. So when there's only one crossroads allowing fast system-to-system travel across vast gulfs of space, the worlds within The Fast Reach have crucial economic and strategic value. Drop this region into your existing setting – or use it as the basis for a whole new campaign!
Planets are often described as living entities, with flora, fauna, geology, etc. acting as metaphorical organs and systems. This is literally true in some sci-fi settings! In A Song of Many Worlds, Christopher Rice provides rules for telepaths and mystics of any sort to commune with planets, along with custom psi abilities (and a character template) specific to world- and plant-empaths.
Some voyages are too long for a crew to make in their lifetime. But in several lifetimes? That's when you build Generation Ships. In this month's Eidetic Memory, David Pulver presents guidelines (and a few optional rules) for creating these long-term vehicles using GURPS Spaceships, along with suggestions for a wide range of adventures to be had on them.
When building a character with the ability to hop between planets, whether a super-hero or a starship, you're probably going to end up using Warp (Hyperjump). In this closer look at Hyperjumping, Jason "PK" Levine greatly expands on the Hyperjump limitation, offering further levels, new related modifiers, handy tables for those who don't think in AUs and parsecs, and optional rules that make it feel less like teleportation and more like traveling through hyperspace.
Some of the most exciting campaigns and settings are built around a device that can open portals to other worlds (*cough*GURPSInfiniteWorlds*cough*) . . . but none are quite like The Time Punch, designed by the mad J. Edward Tremlett. Its long list of restrictions (uncontrollable destination, one-way travel, snapping back after a few days, etc.) are given solid in-game justifications, and hand the GM every tool needed to run a "world of the week" campaign without fearing long-term damage. Also: aliens!
And before we leave this system, we need to stop at the planet Usual-Features, for a Random Thought Table that explores why landing on a planet's surface can be taken for granted (with the right edge), Odds and Ends that associate alien tech with planetside bottlenecks and hubs, and a Murphy's Rules that may just underwhelm you on a universal scale.

— PK & Kromm

11-16-2012, 09:29 AM	#1
Kromm *GURPS* Line Editor Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Montréal, Québec	Pyramid #3/49: World-Hopping Ocean of darkness Ports shown by a thousand lights Each a mystery — Some hack Sometimes, one world isn't big enough for the campaign – you need several, maybe as many as possible. Once again, it's e23 to the rescue, this time with Pyramid #3/49: World-Hopping. Like worlds suitable for settlement, its articles are few in number, but big . . . Matt Riggsby knows that on Earth, many of the greatest cities grew naturally along important trade and travel routes. So when there's only one crossroads allowing fast system-to-system travel across vast gulfs of space, the worlds within The Fast Reach have crucial economic and strategic value. Drop this region into your existing setting – or use it as the basis for a whole new campaign! Planets are often described as living entities, with flora, fauna, geology, etc. acting as metaphorical organs and systems. This is literally true in some sci-fi settings! In A Song of Many Worlds, Christopher Rice provides rules for telepaths and mystics of any sort to commune with planets, along with custom psi abilities (and a character template) specific to world- and plant-empaths. Some voyages are too long for a crew to make in their lifetime. But in several lifetimes? That's when you build Generation Ships. In this month's Eidetic Memory, David Pulver presents guidelines (and a few optional rules) for creating these long-term vehicles using GURPS Spaceships, along with suggestions for a wide range of adventures to be had on them. When building a character with the ability to hop between planets, whether a super-hero or a starship, you're probably going to end up using Warp (Hyperjump). In this closer look at Hyperjumping, Jason "PK" Levine greatly expands on the Hyperjump limitation, offering further levels, new related modifiers, handy tables for those who don't think in AUs and parsecs, and optional rules that make it feel less like teleportation and more like traveling through hyperspace. Some of the most exciting campaigns and settings are built around a device that can open portals to other worlds (cough*GURPSInfiniteWorlds*cough) . . . but none are quite like The Time Punch, designed by the mad J. Edward Tremlett. Its long list of restrictions (uncontrollable destination, one-way travel, snapping back after a few days, etc.) are given solid in-game justifications, and hand the GM every tool needed to run a "world of the week" campaign without fearing long-term damage. Also: aliens! And before we leave this system, we need to stop at the planet Usual-Features, for a Random Thought Table that explores why landing on a planet's surface can be taken for granted (with the right edge), Odds and Ends that associate alien tech with planetside bottlenecks and hubs, and a Murphy's Rules that may just underwhelm you on a universal scale. — PK & Kromm __________________ Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> *GURPS* Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just *GURPS* News]